Robin Is A Girl's Name Anyway
by Shadow131
Summary: Sequale to There's a Fine Line Between Love and Hate. Tired of waiting, Max decides to become a vigilanty. But a new villaness has reared her ugly head. Can the New Batclan handle her?
1. Bad Ideas and Even Worse Food

Robin Is A Girl's Name Anyway: Chapter One: Bad Ideas, and Even Worse Food.

  
  
  
  
  
  


"So...tired....Need....sleep....." moaned Emily, just barley managing to keep her head up, and her nose out of the mashed potatoes she'd ordered for lunch. Terry wasn't having nearly as much luck, as he had laid his head down on his arms, and was now lightly snoring. "No fair!" said Emily, elbowing him in the ribs. "If I'm not sleeping in a public eating facility, neither are you!"

"Emily..." moaned Terry. "How many times do I have to tell you?" he said, managing to pick up his head. "Don't use words over two syllables when I haven't slept in two days."

"Man you guys are dull!" said Max, watching them slump over their food they'd ordered. "It's the first week of summer! You said we were going to have fun!"

"Max, we're tired!" Emily whined.

"Yeah!" said Terry. "Give us a break. Bruce has been working us for three days straight!"

"See, what you need, is a little help!"

"Max..."said Terry in a warning voice

"Don't you dare start that again....." finished Emily for him.

"I'm just saying! I mean! Bruce knew me longer and yet Emily was the one who got to be Batgirl!"

"I guessed right off the bat. It took you a few tries," said Emily, really in no mood to argue with Max.

"And she held a gun to my head and made me promise to let her help me," said Terry.

"You're not still gripping about that, are you!" yelled Emily.

"So that's what I need to do? Threaten to kill you?" Max shouted exasperated.

"I'd rather you didn't," Terry said, slumping down again.

"Why do we even come here?" Emily asked, swirling the mashed potatoes on the plate. "The food tastes like crap anyway."

"It's cheap, and we're on a collage budget," responded Terry.

"You're deliberately changing the subject!" Max yelled.

"Yes," said Emily flat out, while Terry answered the ringing cell phone. He groaned.

"Sure Bruce....We're on it..."

"No! Not again!!!!" Emily cried desperately.

"No, don't worry. He promised he'd let us sleep as long as we like tonight. He doesn't want us falling asleep out there....Again...." Terry reassured his cousin.

"You see!!!! You really do need my help!" Max yelled again.

"Later Max," said Emily, stumbling up and out of her chair.

"Yeah, not now," said Terry, getting up also. Max continued to pout as they left.

  
  


...

  
  


P.O.V

Max

Gotham City

  
  


Mad? Yes! Of corse I was mad! Who wouldn't be?! I'd known about Terry's secret longer than Emily had, but it was her who got the opportunity to show off her skill. No, I'm not jealous of Emily for that. Emily is my friend, and that is just petty. I'm just a bit upset by it, is all. 

But I was slightly hurt, and still mad as hell. They knew they needed my help! They were just to stubborn to admit it! I was so mad and frustrated I couldn't even put it into words. Well, that was it! That's the straw that broke the camels back!

I'm helping them, even if I don't have they're permission.

  
  


...

  
  


"...No Marcy, I didn't enjoy the movie either," a man said to his wife as they drove along in the Volkswagen. "I hate musicals."

"Dave," protested the wife, "you're the one who suggested we see it in the first place. You said you adore musicals."

"I did," he responded. "They just had to go and make that crappy-"

"Woah!" cried Marcy, her head glued to the window, staring down the abandoned alley way as her husband slowed the car. "Did you see that?!"

"No, what?"

"Pull over Dave."

Dave did so, stepping out of the car and peering into the dark alley way. Marcy started to get out, but he dismissed that with a wave of his hand.

"Stay inside Marcy."

Dave wandered a hundred or so yards down the alley, feeling a nervous presence. He didn't like it. Dave turned, trying to head back to the car, when a noise distracted him.

"It's just an alley cat," he tried to reassure himself, but headed in the direction of the noise anyway, fear mounting in him. He had turned a corner in the alley, so he could no longer see the Volkswagen. A soft laughing sound was present, and as his eyes tried to find where it was hidden, he proved unsuccessful. He spun around, then back in the direction he was facing before, to see a woman floating before him.

She wore an Egyptian headdress, signifying the unity of the two lands of Egypt, a flowing dress that bore Egyptian symbols, and Persian eyes painted at the edge of each eye. She wore a fake beard, and laughed softly.

"Whwhwho are yoyoyoyou?" Dave stuttered.

"I am Hatshepsut, Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt, and soon, Gotham City. Why do you just stand there? Do you not know? Queen's are God's, and you always bow before a God. The punishment for such disrespect, is death," she said, as she drew a sword, while Dave stood there, petrified with fear. 

Back at the car, Marcy heard an awful scream. She punched the gas and headed in the direction of the police station.

  
  


To Be Continued.....

  
  
  
  



	2. Rogue Robin

Robin is a Girl's Name Anyway: Chapter Two: Rouge Robin  
  
A.N: I know, I feel awful about not updating sooner. Don't blame me though! The program I use to write my stories on decided to die on me, so we finally uploaded a new one. Once I start a fic on one program, I can't finish it on another. I just can't do both. So, don't worry, there will be alot more updating, alot sooner. Also, if you remember Kyle from Night of the Fector Hybrid, that comes up too.  
  
"No way! You've got to be kidding me!" Emily said, not sure weather to laugh or to feel embaressed. She twirled one of Terry's batarangs around her gloved fingers nonchalantly, the silver glove glinting and sparkiling along with the rest of her new costume against the neon lights behind her.  
Terry had to admit it: She was stunning. She stood there, one leg pushed out at an angle so that the opposite hip stuck out slightly, and with the beautiful gold of her new transformation, along with the old silver of the boots, gloves, emblem, and goggles, it was no wonder to him that he was having trouble keeping Kyle away from her.  
Emily was flattered by the amount of attention Kyle was trying to shower her with, and with the big brother act Terry was giving in her protection.  
"Stop acting like such a big brother!" Emily had hissed at him.  
"Give me one good reason why I should let that creep near you?"  
"Because you're the one who's being a creep, and I'm three days older!"  
And that was true. Kyle was the true polar opposite of a creep. He was charming and kind and considerate. He wasn't pushy, he wasn't forceful. He understood completely, or at least tried to, that Emily simply couldn't, at the moment, commit to a relationship.  
And Emily was crazy about him.  
And this scared Terry. Nobody, but nobody hung around his cousin unless they had Terry's say so. Which really was ridiculous. The only person in her entire year in Gotham that she'd met on her own was Kat, and she was currently doing community service.  
But what was worse was that Kyle was crazy about Emily, and Emily knew this. It scared her too, but at the same time, gave her a huge thrill, one that no amount of nights on patrol could ever do for her. She had never strayed from the safety of her cousin's love, and that of her friends that she'd made in Gotham. A relationship with the kind, and debonaire Kyle would have been a welcome change, and at eighteen, soon to be nineteen, Emily deserved to have a bit of freedom.  
Terry knew this. He understood this. But accept it? No, he couldn't fathom it. So Emily had a bit of resentment built up against Terry. But when duty called, as it had that night, Emily easily and quickly put her differences aside for the common good. And Terry tried to do the same.  
"No, I'm dead serious," he responded, snatching back the 'rang, while Emily pouted.  
She shrugged. "Stranger things have been seen between Heaven and Earth."  
"That's very good. Did you just make it up?"  
"Naw, I think I read it in a book somewhere."  
  
...  
  
As it turned out, what they had been discussing was a call in from Bruce, stating that a gang of thugs, dressed as ancient Egyptians, were currently robbing one of Gotham's premier jewelry stores.  
Emily had responded "In this heat, who could blame them."  
Bruce had responded by snapping at the both of them to get moving before the jewelry store became an empty room.  
  
...  
  
"At last, the Jade Scorpion is finally mine," said Hepshetsut, her own green eyes sparkling. "Good work my slaves."  
The men bowed, as Hepshetsut ran smooth fingers over her treasure. But one of the slaves had not trained and been resurrected with the thieving queen. One had just been picked off the streets when one of the slaves had died in training. And he made the large mistake of not bowing.  
"But, er, you Highness? That's the least expensive thing in the store! Why not get our hands on some of these diamonds?"  
"Silence!" she said, cutting him off with a sweep of her hand. "We have what we came for, now we will go."  
"No way! I'm getting some of these pearls!"  
Hepshetsut glared at him. "Touch them, and you go against my wishes."  
"Watch me care," he said, smashing the glass. Hepshetsut stuck her fine nose in the air, snapping her long fingers. A slave raised his gun and cut down the rebel.  
"These modern fire machines are some what barbaric, but ever so useful," she said, nonchalantedly. "Shall we go?"  
"I think not," said a voice, standing in the doorway.  
  
...  
  
"You want to take the front, or should I?" asked Batman.  
"Go ahead," responded Fox. "You're Batman, you should have the grand entrance."  
"Are you being sarcastic?"  
"No. I like the back better."  
"What did I do now?!"  
"I dunno, what did you do?"  
"So am I not in trouble?"  
"If you stop giving Kyle a hard time, no, your not."  
"Puh! Like that's gonna happen."  
"In that case I'll someday find it in my heart to forgive you," Emily said, sticking her nose in the air and jumping down into the back alley.  
"Okay," said Terry to himself, "I'll take the front." He jumped down, kicking the front door open, ready to fight, but what he saw made him stop. Fox kicked in the back door, her fists in the air. They quickly dropped to her sides. She crossed the room, dodging the scuffle, and stood next to Batman.  
"Uhh....." she started.  
There was someone, decked out in a Robin suit! It was high tech, the colors darker, blending in more with the night, with brownish tan skin, and the bright red hair that was signature Max.  
"Oh Ra! More?" said Hepshetsut, who was standing off to the side. "I'm assuming you can handle this," she said, clapping her hands and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.  
"Hey guys!" called Robin, as she punched someone out.  
"Max?" asked Emily, taking a step forward.  
"You wanna try one?" she called, stepping back.  
"Max, no!" called Terry. Too late. The thug had punched her out, giving more a chance to escape. Some had already slipped into the alley quietly. The one whom Max had been scuffling with ran out, while Batman tried to give chase, but he was far too fast. Fox rushed to Robin's side, helping her up.  
"So," she asked, laughing nervously, "nice weather we're having, huh?"  
Terry and Emily simply glared at her.  
  
- 


	3. The Struggle of the Batclan

Robin is a Girl's Name Anyway: Chapter Four: The Struggle of the Batclan  
  
"Oh no, you got yourself into this mess. I'm not talking to Bruce for you. He's going to be mad as hell anyway. I'm not going to get yelled at for your stupid mistake," said Emily, crossing her arms and turning her back on Max.  
"But..but Emily! You've just got to! How am I suppose to be bonafied if it doesn't go by you to Bruce?"  
"That's the point. You're not," she said, turning again, making her brown hair flip.  
"Terry?" she said with a bit more hope. He scowled at her.  
"What on earth were you thinking! You could've been killed! Going out, without any training!"  
She grinned. "But I do have training. What do you think I've been doing for the last three weeks?"  
Had it really been three weeks? Yes, June had given up hope on the pair of vigilanties, and July had come.  
"It's not training if it's not from Bruce," Emily said stubbornly. Max rolled her eyes. Bruce was amazing, but he wasn't superhuman. She looked at Terry, thinking he'd agree, but he was siding with Emily with a nod of his head. What did they see in him that Max was missing? More importantly, how would she see it if Bruce didn't train her?  
  
.  
  
Despite what Emily said, she and Terry were yelled at by Bruce for Max's mistake.  
"I AM NOT GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER ROBIN PATROLLING THE STREETS! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!"  
Emily and Terry winced as he yelled. Emily nearly said "three times the charm," but decided now was not the time. She didn't think she could ever remember seeing Bruce this mad.  
But Terry, who had known Bruce longer, had just enough courage to stand and speak.  
"She didn't do so horribly Bruce."  
Bruce fixed his cold blue eyes of Terry, but he did not shrink back from that icy gaze as Emily, and most assuredly Max, would have done. He'd dealt with that stare for over three years. It didn't burn anymore.  
Emily looked up at her cousin with love and admiration.  
"She's not going out there," Bruce reiterated, and in this instance, his word was law. "Now, if you don't mind, it's time to do the other things I pay you for. Who's going to drive me to my meeting?"  
Terry had sat down, and they both grimaced slightly. It would not be pleasant with Bruce in a dark mood.  
"Flip you for it," Emily whispered in her cousin's ear.  
  
.  
  
P.O.V  
Emily Mackenzie  
Interstate Five  
  
As fate would have it, I lost.  
"What did you think about Max's job?"  
That was random.  
"I.I don't know," I said with a sigh.  
"She's too rough," he said with a definite air about him.  
"She trained herself. She's probably not doing all the fine tuning you do."  
"And it pays off. You do more, get hurt less, and learn more."  
Oh boy...Good job Mackenzie. You've triggered the "Don't you dare complain" voice.  
"I agree," I said. Okay, so it was a lie. I'm semi-Christian, not an angel.  
"And you want her on the team."  
"I didn't say that."  
"But you thought it."  
"No." That was true enough.  
"So do you, or not."  
"I.I don't know. I don't think so. She's too over zealous. She would need weeks, maybe months of training, and she wouldn't want to wait that long. She could get seriously hurt, and that's the last thing I want."  
"And how about her good qualities?" he asked.  
"She's smart, she's quick, and she's obviously been working at it. We're here," I finished, pulling into the lot, by the door.  
I got out, opening the door for him while he stepped out.  
"Oh, Bruce! One more thing!" I called, and he turned.  
"Robin is a girl's name anyway."  
  
To Be Continued.. 


	4. The Transaction

Robin is a Girl's Name Anyway: Chapter Four: The Transaction  
  
"You realize," said Emily, twirling around in the swivel chair, "that if I do this for you, you owe me your soul?"  
"Coming from a Christian girl, that says a lot," said Max, pushing the sun glasses up farther and pulling her hat down farther as she pulled up the collar on the trench coat.  
Emily stuck out her tongue, and then sighed, annoyed. "Max, take those damn sun glasses off. No one's going to see you, and I'm not being traced or anything!" she shouted angrily. Max relented, but gave a quick look around the mall food court, just in case.  
The two were meeting in secret to discuss Max's constant begging of being trained. For the past two weeks, Max had followed Emily and Terry without relenting, a silent reminder that ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away. Finally, she broke Emily's will power, and the Fox agreed to train her, if she swore to God himself she would quit being Robin and use it only in self defense. Max agreed, figuring she might be able to wear down Emily again, or, if she was extra clever, Terry.  
"Well?" Emily asked again, sipping on her smoothie nonchalantly.  
"Er...." Max said, pausing and thinking heavily.  
"Going once-"  
"Okay, okay! Deal! Deal! But you gotta keep your end of the bargain."  
Emily faked being horrified. "Would I ever cheat you out of anything?"  
"Yes." Emily wrinkled her nose and threw a few French fries at her friend. Grinning, they exited, arm in arm.  
  
...  
  
"Wrong, try again," Emily ordered as Max executed a pitiful example of a windmill kick. Max slumped against her apartment wall, breathing heavily in her exhaustion.  
"It's nearly nine o'clock! We've been at this since five! Don't you have work or something to go to?" she whined, reaching for the water bottle that Emily quickly snatched away, denying her.  
"Nope. I took the whole day off just for you," she responded, grinning broadly. She slumped into a chair sideways, sucking on the straw of the water bottle, her legs flung over the arm rest in nonchalance. "My, this is fun! I can see why Bruce loves it so much!"  
Max glared at her. "I hate you."  
"You're the one who wanted training. I merely supplied. Be lucky you didn't get Terry or Bruce..." Emily said, her words drifting off into a shudder. "No, you're extremely lucky, you know?" Max did not respond. She was too focused on trying to get her legs to start working properly again. Emily sighed, and relented.  
"Oh fine, we can quit for now. You'll probably be too sore to work tomorrow either, but I don't want any complaining from you! I merely gave you what you asked for!"  
"I didn't ask to have the bone marrow knocked out of me!" Max cried, close to tears in the frustration of not being able to even stand up.  
"Don't be such a baby, Max! This isn't even half as bad as Terry and I get every day!"  
"Well I'm not you or Terry!" Max cried out in frustration. Emily rolled her eyes, tossed her the water bottle, said goodnight, and left for the evening, returning to Wayne Manor.  
  
...  
  
Emily closed the car door with a slam as she walked up the gravel path to the front door. She grinned as she saw an exhausted Terry exit the building.  
"Hey sunshine how was patrol?"  
"So...tired...need....sleep...." he moaned, slumping against his cousin's arm. "I forgot how nice it is to have a partner around with."  
"That's me, always there for you buddy. Oh, and by the way, happy birthday."  
"Huh?"  
"Hello? July 9th? Your birthday?"  
"Oh shit! I forgot your birthday!"  
Emily laughed. "Calm down, it's not that big of a deal."  
"Yes it is! You still wear that gold necklace I gave you; I should get you a bracelet or something!"  
"Yeah well, the kitten I gave you is probably close to kicking the bucket, but I doubt you want a new one."  
He laughed. "Thank you, no. Spec was enough. Even when he's gone, I'll still have the photo."  
"Photo?"  
"Don't you remember? It was of you and me when I first gave you the necklace and you gave me Spec!"  
"I'm a woman, Terry, not an encyclopedia of all our birthday pictures."  
He laughed. "Good point. I'll make you a copy, k?"  
"K. Goodnight."  
"'Night," he responded, walking off towards his motorcycle. Emily shook her head and laughed, climbing the steps and entering the house.  
"Bruce! I'm home!" she called. She heard Ace barking, signaling her return, and smiled. Yup, he was still alive. Just had to make sure. She entered her bedroom and flopped down onto the bed, resting tired eyes.  
  
...  
  
"This thing's creeping me out," Fox said, rubbing her arm nervously as the pair of vigilantes sat on the roof of the theater, awaiting Bruce's instructions. They had no true purpose for being at the theater, other than the fact that a section of the roof was glass, and it would give them something to watch and listen to while they waited for all of Bruce's data had come through.  
"I dunno, for something so old, I kinda like this musical," said Batman, lifting his head up to grin at her.  
"Har, har...." she said, rolling her eyes. "You know I meant the waiting. I don't like super villains who pretend they're ancient rulers, it makes me nervous."  
"Reliving Nightshade?" he asked, flicking an imaginary speck of dust from his shoulder.  
"You should talk...." she responded harshly. Nightshade. She'd never be rid of her. Of the fear and the waiting. Of the pain and confusion. Of those cold, black eyes and that cruel laugh. The haunting images would never fade, would never leave her. Never, never.  
"Sorry," he apologized, reverting his attention to the musical below. "How old was this musical?" he then queried.  
"Nineteen eighty something," Emily responded, slowly noticing that feeling was creeping back into her extremities. Terry gapped, and continued to stare.  
"What book was it based off of?" he then asked.  
"Lord, I don't know!" she said impatiently. The Gotham City Hall Theater had been doing spring cleaning a few months ago and had stumbled upon ancient scripts and sheet music for dozens of plays, but mostly musicals. So, for the next few years they'd be doing the special "Glimpse from the Past," showing all of the musicals. Some of them were even going on tour. Emily was dying to see one, and intended to drag Terry along with her, or, if she was extremely luck, Kyle.  
Terry opened his mouth to ask another question, but then shut it as he put a finger to his cowl.  
"We're getting a call from Bruce. He says that there's something odd going on down by the old gun factory."  
"Got it," said Emily, hopping into the batmobile.  
  
...  
  
Emily laughed now, in a mixture of amusement and relief. "Well talk about nostalgia."  
"What? What's so funny?" Terry asked, cocking his head and looking at the old arms factory. It didn't seem any different to him than any other building.  
"What? You don't remember?"  
"No."  
Emily's hand now became a gun which she shoved into his chest. "I know it's you in there Terry," she said, grinning.  
He thought a moment, and then grinned too. "Ah yes, the fateful night you found out my dark and deadly secret."  
"Well, my partner in anti-crime, shall we go in?" she said, motioning to the door.  
"Lets."  
"Are you two quite finished?" Bruce snapped through the radio connection. They ignored him and burst open the door.  
There, in the center, surround by pale bluish-green light, were a ring of six men, and one woman in the center, a large pot in front of her. Holding up seven different jewels, she shouted out incantations, and with each incantation, the gems pulsed with light.  
"Oh no you don't!" shouted Emily, pulling her hands over her head and then together as though she were holding a gun. And then, to Terry's amazement, she was. A golden revolver sparkling in the dim light.  
"Golden Gun! Fire!" she shouted, as one long beam of light shot out from the pistol.  
"Good God, Emily, no!" Terry shouted, trying to stop her, but it was too late. One of the men went down, smacking into another as he smashed against a wall. Terry roughly grabbed his cousin's arm, keeping her from continuing the assault. "Are you crazy?!"  
"What's the matter with you?! It's just focused energy! It's like getting hit with hard rubber really, really, really, really, really hard." Terry immediately released her arm, noticing that the woman, whose features looked tired and haggard, almost violently so, was making a break for it. Turning to face him, she shouted words he didn't understand, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.  
He turned to find Emily bashing one in the head, while trying to keep two others at bay. Using a batarang, he managed to take out the two that hassled her while knocking out the last one.  
"TERRY!" he finally heard Bruce shouting into his ear. "I told you Emily to get back to the cave! New development!"  
"Got it," Terry said, exhaustedly. "Let's go Em."  
  
...  
  
"Her name's what?"  
"Andrea Leslie," Bruce responded to Emily's question, motioning to the monitor. "Former professor of ancient Egyptian history, a widow, and now, crazy beyond belief."  
"Great, that's just what we need," said Terry, slumping into a chair.  
"Egyptian history fascinated her, especially that of Hatshepsut. When her husband died of a mysterious disease that doctors couldn't cure, she turned to the only comfort she had: her books. In a mad wave of grief and desperation, she used her life saving to buy items of mystic power in order use a spell she'd found. Unfortunately for her, it worked. She thinks she's queen of Egypt, and worse yet, the world. And the spell gave her seven people to believe her. Now it's six, but they're still deadly."  
"So what are the jewels for?" Emily asked, feeling a horrible pang of sorrow for the grief stricken Andrea.  
"Spells that will help her control the world. But there's hope yet. She's mad, but the real Andrea's still in there someplace, and is trying to sabotage the whole thing. Rumor has it that the two fight constantly with each other, and she beats herself up in frustration."  
"That's awful!" Emily cried, shooting up from her chair. "There's got to be someway to help her!"  
"None known to modern medical science, or any Egyptian scrolls I've seen as of late. Her only release will be her own death, and I think that's what she's trying to accomplish."  
Terry reached out a hand to hold his cousin's seeing the pure disgust and horror written on her face.  
"A new Nightshade?" he asked.  
"A similarity, but I doubt that we're dealing with Satan his or herself."  
Emily felt suddenly sick. Someone stop the ride, she wanted to get off.  
"Well then, I guess tomorrow we'll get cracking." 


	5. So Must it End

Robin is a Girl's Name Anyway: Chapter Five: And So Must it End  
  
"Well," said Emily sarcastically, "this is fun."  
The pair were swinging by a rope dangled above a vat of hydro- choleric acid.  
"I thought this'd be too clichéd for you," remarked Batman dryly. To shortly describe the events, the pair had busted in on another one of their enchantments, and were beaten. Badly.  
Hatshepsut was tenderly stroking her seven jewels; The Jade Scorpion, The Diamond Scorpion, The Ruby Scorpion, the Sapphire Scorpion, the Pearl Scorpion, The Gold Scorpion, and the Ivory Scorpion. Glaring hatefully up at the duo, she snipped "By Ra, be silent!"  
"Well if you're going to be that way about it-" began Emily, but Hatshepsut quickly cut her off.  
"Why did you bother to come back? No matter. It is of no importance to me. You may watch Gotham City slowly wither into my power."  
"Andrea, you've got to listen to me-" Terry pleaded.  
"Be silent, mortal fool! I am the Queen of Egypt! I am a goddess! There is no Andrea!" Emily noticed that she had begun to clutch her side painfully.  
"You been beating yourself up again, Leslie?" Emily asked coldly.  
Hatshepsut gave her an evil look. "That is not of your concern."  
"I beg to differ."  
  
...  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go back to that last part," Max said half hopefully.  
Bruce coughed slightly, and glared at her, hating having his hand pushed. "She's going to destroy the city if-"  
"No, before that."  
He mumbled something.  
"I can't hear you...." She teased.  
"Damn you! This isn't a time for games!"  
Max grinned evilly still.  
He sighed angrily. "Fine!...I...Terry and Emily that is....We need your help."  
  
...  
  
"Now, be silent mortal fools, for I must invoke the gods."  
"You'll be sorry when you're gods turn out to be nothing more than statues of stone that you built by your own hands," Emily said coldly.  
"Liar! Thieving, scheming, liar! The magic will work."  
"Oh, I don't doubt that...." Added Terry darkly. "The magic's bound to work...But it won't be any sun god that accomplished it."  
Hatshepsut stumbled slightly, as she reached out to claw him with her fine long nails. A look of pain crossed her face, and timidly, Emily asked "Andrea?"  
Collapsing to the floor, the jewels scattered everywhere, and the slaves hurried to pick them up. One went to her assistance, but she ordered him back.  
"Let the fool of a mortal woman whose body I now own speak! Let her and her words die! Let Egypt rise in glory again!" The cobra diadem came off, letting the black hair flow. The hair soon turned to a ruddy gold, as if possessed by its own magic.  
"Thank God," Andrea murmured, managing to get herself to her knees.  
"Mrs. Leslie?" Batman asked in surprise. She looked up, and blinked in confusion.  
"I remember you..." she said slowly, as though all her memories had been whipped out. "You're Batman....."  
Terry smiled slightly. "Yes Mrs. Leslie."  
"And you're his partner...." She added, indicating to Fox. "You're that golden Fox girl."  
Emily cried a little, for it was like seeing someone die, and be slowly reborn when you knew that this would only last for a moment.  
"I...I don't have much time.....She's winning over me....I'm so weak...."  
"It'll be okay," assured Emily. "We'll get you out of this. We'll see that justice is done."  
"Oh, I don't doubt the justice part....." she said, sighing. "But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll just let her kill me....Its much less messy that way, and Hank's waiting for me...."  
"Your husband?" Terry asked, confused. Andrea smiled and nodded.  
Emily was still baffled. "You mean you're giving up?"  
Leslie shrugged. "I suppose so, yes."  
"But you can't just-"  
Andrea held up an interruptive hand. "Were you in the same place as I, you'd be dying to get out."  
"But you're our last barrier!" protested Batman.  
Leslie frowned. "Yes. And I'm sorry." A wave seemed to pass over the woman, and briefly, the red gold hair was black again.  
"Are you through yet?" demanded the harsh alter ego. This did not last long, for the ruddy gold soon returned.  
"Yes. I am finished Hatshepsut. You may do as you please." And with that, Andrea Leslie died.  
Emily began to cry in desperation as Hatshepsut wearily rose to her feet. "But she was our last hope!"  
"No," responded a voice from the door. "I am."  
Max!  
"Get her! I will not be interrupted by that pest again!" shouted the Queen, pointing an accusing finger at Robin. Two men, armed with machetes started walking toward her. Whipping out two Birdarangs, Max knocked one unconscious and the other dead. Emily winced, for she hated to kill, and she heard Terry suck in a breath behind her.  
"You are too late to stop me!" Hatshepsut cried once more, and, raising the jewels high above her head, she started the incantation. "I summon the wrath of Amun-Ra, the sun god!"  
Max was tackled from behind, and she slammed her elbow into her opponents face. She was tackled from the front, knocking the wind out of her. She knocked on the top of his head fiercely with her fist, knocking him unconscious. That left two.  
"I summon Isis, the mother; Nut, the goddess of the heavens! Osiris, the god of the dead!"  
One came charging at her with one of the spare guns, and, ducking fire, she side swiped him with her legs, sending him sprawling on the floor. He knocked his head against a column, and lay still.  
The last gave her a flying kick into the jaw, sending her sprawling across the floor. He was about to finish her off, when her leg came up and landed a kick right between his own legs.  
"And I summon Horus, my patron deity!"  
"And I summon a major ass kicking for you if you don't knock it off right now!"  
Max looked haggard, was slightly bloody; part of her mask was tearing. Swinging her legs, Emily managed to get her feet to the side of the basin. Max sent her last birdarang her way, slicing the ropes neatly. Both vigilantes hopped down, now forming a circle around Hatshepsut. Frightened, she looked about her as the three closed in.  
"It's over Hatshepsut. You've lost," said Emily.  
"Let it go," advised Terry.  
And then, rebellion crossed her face, and she seethed "Never." Taking her own sword, she raised it high above her head. Max cried out and reached for her, but it was too late. Hatshepsut fell to the floor a bloody pile of ancient magic, which quickly turned to dust.....  
  
...  
  
"So Max, what did you think of our glorious life?" Emily taunted.  
Max glared at her. "Never again."  
"We thought you'd see it our way," Terry teased lightly, sprawled out on the couch, flipping through channels.  
"I thought I might die...." She admitted. "I was really afraid...."  
"That comes with the territory. When you've been in the business as long as we have-"  
"Don't strain yourselves while gloating," Max said dryly.  
"Oh, we won't," assured Emily.  
"And by the way, Bruce said to never mention that little incident with being asked to help again."  
Max pouted.  
  
The End  
  
Sorry to all you who wanted Max to remain a vigilantly. I've never really  
liked that idea. And to those who wanted Max and Terry to fall in love; plain and simple; no. Sorry. For the moment, Terry can drool over Kathryn  
Kyle instead. Max just never was "cut from the cloth," in my opinion. I always thought she might do well in behind the scenes work, but otherwise,  
no. Never. Thanks to my faithful reviewer, and stay tuned for my next  
exciting Batman Beyond work, The Fox Shadow Ring. 


End file.
